


Caught

by RecklessDoodler



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Caught, Eavesdropping, F/F, Swan Queen - Freeform, traumatised snow white
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 13:50:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20836523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RecklessDoodler/pseuds/RecklessDoodler
Summary: David arrives for dinner at his daughter's house, only to find that Emma's been somewhat distracted all afternoon by a certain mayor. Him and Snow hear things that they'd hoped never to hear.





	Caught

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this came from... It's definitely not finished, but I haven't written in so long that I just wanted to put something out there. Enjoy :)

Removing his heavy jacket from his shoulders and kicking his boots to the side of Emma’s door, David breathed a sigh of relief after making it through a particularly demanding day at work. He wondered briefly whether he could convince Regina, and probably more importantly, Emma, to allow him and Snow to create some new laws. They were technically monarchs, after all, and would have frequently done so back in the Enchanted Forest. He brushed off the thought as quickly as it came to him, he really wasn’t in the mood to hear Emma tell him, “we’re not in the land of happily ever after anymore, dad, this isn’t your world,” for the hundredth time.

“Mary-Margaret?” He called as he strolled through to his daughter’s kitchen, surprised to find it empty. He checked his watch, nope, not early. He frowned. Did they not agree to dinner at Emma’s on Friday? He glanced about and noted Emma’s red leather jacket thrown haphazardly on the floor, nothing surprising there. He picked it up and placed it on the arm of the couch as he headed to the stairs, assuming she’d be upstairs somewhere, probably having lost track of time.

“Emma, honey?” He called as he ascended. When he reached the middle step, a loud groan hit his ears. “Did you take a nap?” He asked, half to himself as he rolled his eyes at his daughter’s lack of organisation. 

Sure enough, the sound seemed to have come from Emma’s bedroom. As he rounded the corner, however, he was stopped in his tracks by a hand to his mouth. His chest burst with panic and he thrashed for a moment, rocking his body back and forth, before being released and dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

“David, shh!”

He frowned at his wife’s voice, “What the-?”, a sharp pain in his lower back stole the remainder of the question from his mouth, “Damnit. Mary-Margaret?”

“I’m so sorry,” Mary-Margaret dropped to her knees beside him, “Are you okay?”

“I’ve pulled my back,” he grimaced, “What are you doing?”

His wife affectionately rubbed her hand up and down his back, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What reaction were you expecting me to have to being suddenly grabbed from behind?”

“Well, you are a sheriff, David, so thrashing about like a child wasn’t that high up on my list.”

David finally looked up at his wife, startled by how squeaky and fast her words left her lips. When he caught her eyes, his anger gave way to concern, “Honey, what’s wrong? You’re white as-“

“Snow. I know. David, I’ve- I’ve been here for hours, I-”

She was interrupted by a yell which prompted David to try to rise in panic, only to drop quickly again with a wince, “Oh Gods,” he groaned, pain shooting from his back down through his legs, “Was that Emma?” He asked, confused, “What’s-“

Mary-Margaret was squeezing her eyes tightly shut and for a moment, David worried that she was about to vomit on him.

“Honey, what is going on?” He asked again, frustration building.

His wife opened her eyes a crack to stare down at the ground, “Oh Gods, David, I don’t know why I’m still here. I should have left. I wasn’t sure at first, but that’s definitely- I mean, I probably should have just gone home to get some of the cleaning done and then I could have met you at the station and we might have taken a walk or gone to Granny’s for a hot chocolate-”

David interrupted her with a hand on her shoulder, “You’re rambling. Is Emma okay? Who-?”

“It’s Regina. I mean, I hope it’s Regina. Gods, no that’s not what I meant. I wish it was no one. But if it had to be someone than at least it’s someone we somewhat trust, now. Oh, wow, I never thought I’d say that about her-”

Another groan filled the air, this time obviously belonging to the mayor, and Davids brow creased in confusion as he looked towards Emma’s bedroom door, only to flatten in horrifying realisation as the door bounced loudly on it’s hinges, beginning to shake with a rhythm that had to mean that someone was- someone- two people… were…

His eyes shot back to Mary-Margaret’s and, finally, he understood her behaviour. For a moment, a moment far too long for either of their liking, they stared at one another in absolute terror as the door continued to rattle and, in their silence, the gasps and groans and mumblings of the two women inside the bedroom became frighteningly apparent. 

“We have to leave,” David stuttered, as his brain began to process the situation, “We shouldn’t be listening to this.”

“I’ve been telling myself that for hours,” Mary-Margaret mumbled in monotone. David noticed that she was trembling.

“How long have you been here?” He asked.

“I came straight from work. I was going to help Emma prepare the food, only apparently Regina must have had the same idea and-”

“You’ve been here since four?”

“It feels longer,” she replied, her voice heavy with tension.

“Wait, you mean they’ve been at it for three hours?”

“Oh, Gods, Emma, just like that!” Regina screamed.

David blanched, “help me up.”

Mary-Margaret snapped out of her stupor and reached an arm around her husband’s back, aiding him as he painfully rose to his feet. They managed all of two steps before David’s back seized and an involuntary and particularly loud groan escaped him. 

The two of them froze on the spot. The door had suddenly stopped moving, the gasps on the other side vanishing with it. Mary-Margaret squeezed her eyes tightly shut and David held his breath, praying to every God he had ever learned about that they hadn’t been heard, all the while knowing that it was too late for that. 

“Um, hello?” Emma called out, quietly, tentatively.

When neither David nor Mary-Margaret responded, they heard the telltale creak of the door opening behind them. 

“Oh, shit, shit,” Emma muttered, “fuck.”

Still, David and Mary-Margaret found themselves frozen on the spot, eyes glued to the bare white wall ahead of them, unable and unwilling to turn around and face what was happening.

“Can we help you?” Regina asked, sounding entirely unperturbed and - if David wasn’t reading too much into it - somewhat amused.

A shuffle that sounded like someone being shoved was followed by a short, “can you not?,” from Emma.

“How long, um, have you guys-? Have you guys been here long?” His daughter asked.

“No.” Mary-Margaret replied way too fast, her words shaky, “We just got here. We can leave, though, until you’re ready for dinner.”

“Yeah, maybe- I mean, yeah, that works.”

David could hear the blush on his daughter’s cheeks.

“Before we go, could one of you fix my back?” he asked, trying his damned hardest to not acknowledge the elephant in the room, “I’d like to leave quickly.”

“You’ll have to wait a while. My magic is a little… unpredictable after, well, you know.” Regina breathily explained, and this time David was left with no doubt that she was thoroughly enjoying this sick situation.


End file.
